Morse's Jones hoists Team USA to next round of WBC

United States' Adam Jones (10) celebrates his run scored against Canada with teammate Jimmy Rollins (11) in the eighth inning during a World Baseball Classic baseball game on Sunday, March 10, 2013, in Phoenix. The United States defeated Canada 9-4. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
— AP

United States' Adam Jones (10) celebrates his run scored against Canada with teammate Jimmy Rollins (11) in the eighth inning during a World Baseball Classic baseball game on Sunday, March 10, 2013, in Phoenix. The United States defeated Canada 9-4. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
/ AP

PHOENIX  A dozen years ago, the answer was no. Then a 15-year-old shortstop at Morse High, Adam Jones was good enough to be flown to Houston for tryouts for the under-16 team that would represent the U.S. in the Junior Olympics in Veracruz, Mexico., but didn't quite make the final cut.

“I told myself then, if I ever get the opportunity, I want to make it to the majors leagues,” said Jones, 27, now an All-Star center fielder with the Baltimore Orioles, “and if the opportunity ever arises to play for Team USA, the answer will be "yes.' ”

Although he was surrounded Sunday by a Chase Field crowd of 22,425 that was mostly pulling for Canada, Jones was wearing the Team USA uniform as he personally brought out a resounding “Yesssssss” from American fans and his own dugout., that with a two-run double in the eighth inning that completely turned the World Baseball Classic game in the U.S.’s favor.

Not only did Jones scuttle the Canadian lead, putting the Americans ahead 4-3, but he soon scored what stood as the winning run in a 9-4 triumph that advanced Team USA to the next round of the WBC in Miami. The Americans move on with surprising Team Italy, which the U.S. beat Saturday night, to mix it up with the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico at Marlins Park.

If anything, Jones went a long way toward sparing the U.S. of another embarrassment at the homegrown WBC, a tournament in which the Americans have yet to reach the championship game. Even as much as the WBC’s been a rough go for the U.S., and even with all the big-name players who passed on it this year, Jones wanted badly to be a part of it.

“When Joe (Torre, the USA manager) called me right after Thanksgiving, I was ecstatic,” said Jones, who also drove in an earlier run Sunday with his sacrifice fly. “I was thinking about it all through the holidays, through Christmas, all winter. I got to (Orioles) camp ready to go and came here ready to represent my country.”

Jones said he was flattered to be chosen from among so many great American outfielders, but the fact is, he’s a two-time Gold Glove winner who’s already considered among the premier all-around players at that premier position.

His eighth-inning at bat, to be sure, was big-league all the way. On the move with the pitch were pinch runner Willie Bloomquist from second and David Wright from first.

“Those are two guys who are perennial base-stealers,” said Jones. “I played with Bloomy in Seattle (Jones’ original team), and any time he gets on base, he doesn’t want to stay on that base too long. It was a good pitch (from Canada’s Jimmy Henderson) for him to go on and a good pitch for me to hit, I was glad I didn’t try to do too much and didn’t get distracted by the runners.”

Jones’ double into the left-center gap the three-run, ninth-inning double to the wall by teammate Eric Hosmer in the ninth “both were hit about as hit as hard as you’d ever want to see,” said Torre. “Both times, I think the center fielder thought he had a shot at it, and he just had no chance.”